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James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, was a pivotal figure in the Civil War in Lancashire, between 1642-51, and in governance of North-West of England across a quarter of a Century. As Lord of the Isle of Man, he enjoyed quasi-royal powers and fostered a court culture on the island which expressed itself through poetry, plays, masques and conspicuous display. A religious visionary and man of letters, he was a supremely gifted peace time administrator who was suddenly thrown into the maelstrom of a civil war for which he was neither prepared nor militarily suited. He was a bright and reflexive courtier, conscious of the need for compromise, who was destroyed through his role in the massacre of Bolton, in 1644, and by the mistrust and ingratitude of successive Stuart monarchs. Triumphing at the battles of Warrington, he tasted bitter defeat at Sabden Brook and Wigan Lane. Yet he, more than perhaps anyone, was saviour of the Royalist cause after the Battle of Worcester, when he spirited the fugitive King Charles II to Boscobel Hall. Incredibly, 'the Great Stanley' has had no biographer until now. This book reveals him in his glory and his tragedy as Cavalier and Lord of Man.
Presenting striking new evidence, this book shows that "William Shakespeare" was the pen name of William Stanley, son of the Earl of Derby. Born in 1561, he was educated at Oxford, travelled for three years abroad, and studied law in London, mixing with poets and playwrights. In 1592 Spenser recorded that Stanley had written several plays. In 1594 he unexpectedly inherited the earldom--hence the pen name. He became a Knight of the Garter in 1601, eligible to help bear the canopy over King James at his coronation, likely prompting Sonnet 125's "Wer't ought to me I bore the canopy?"--he is the only authorship candidate ever in a position to "bear the canopy" (which was only ever borne over roy...
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